THE owner of a residential home for people with learning disabilities and mental health problems has said managers have acted on a health watchdog’s report that told it to improve.

Oakley House in Hampton Court Way, Thames Ditton, was visited by inspectors from the Care Quality Commission (CQC) on November 18 last year, who found that staff had not been trained in relation to the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and other safeguarding protocols.

In the report published last week, inspectors said some areas of the service were not meeting the necessary standards, including training for members of staff, planning and carrying out risk assessments for individual residents.

Of the six objectives that inspectors from the CQC tested during their visit, half were not being met at the time of the inspection.

The home’s owners were told they needed to improve record keeping for individual residents, which was not being done at the time of inspection, and to develop a system of monitoring the quality of its service.

Speaking to the Surrey Advertiser, Geetah Devi Hulkua – the owner of Oakley House which opened in September 2011 – said the management had already taken steps to improve the areas that the CQC had highlighted.

She said: “Since the report was published, all the training has been updated, in light of the report. Everything is now up to date. The CQC is going to come back and look again but we don’t know when that will be yet.”

Inspectors found residents were being treated with respect and were involved in decisions about their care and support. It noted that the privacy and dignity of residents are respected and independence is encouraged.

Dietary needs were also being met, but although the CQC found that human rights were being respected and there is protection from abuse, it has made suggestions for improvement.

While inspecting the home, residents and staff were spoken to about their experiences of living and working at Oakley House.

The CQC found residents were happy with the service they receive, noting that: “People told us that they were happy with the care and support they were receiving and that their needs were being met. They said that the staff treated them with respect, listened to them and supported them to raise any concerns they had about their care.

“People told us that the service responded to their health needs and made arrangements for them to attend appointments.”